The benchmark indices, the Nifty and the Sensex, have opened this morning with gains after yesterday's massive slump of well over 2%.
Data on fuel and vehicle sales show greenshoots that suggest economic normalcy may be returning soon.
Join us as we follow the top business news through the day.
Indiabulls Housing Finance sells additional stake in OakNorth Holdings for Rs 220 crore
A stake sale that helps in improving the financier's capital position.
PTI reports: "Indiabulls Housing Finance on Friday said it has sold an additional stake in OakNorth Holdings Ltd for Rs 220 crore.
The sale proceeds will be accretive to the regulatory net worth and the CRAR (capital to risk weighted assets ratio) of the company, it said.
“Indiabulls Housing Finance has further sold a portion of its stake in OakNorth Holdings Ltd (the wholly owned parent company of OakNorth Bank plc) for approximately Rs 220 crore,” Indiabulls Housing Finance said in a regulatory filing.
The company said with the latest stake sale, it has raised a total of Rs 2,493 crore as fresh equity in the month of September and October 2020 (Rs 683 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) and Rs 1,810 crore through sale of stake in OakNorth) adding to the regulatory equity capital of the company.
The shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance were trading 0.83 per cent lower at Rs 150.25 apiece on the BSE."
Apple supplier Foxconn aims to supply to 10% of global EVs
Foxconn aims to provide components or services for 10% of the world's electric vehicles (EVs) by between 2025 and 2027, and has been in talks with multiple car manufacturers for future cooperation, Chairman Liu Young-way said on Friday.
The Taiwanese contract manufacturer, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd and a major supplier to Apple Inc , is looking at fresh growth from sectors such as electric vehicles, digital health and robots in a drive to diversify its global investments.
Automaker Fiat Chrysler said in January it planned to set up a joint venture with Foxconn to build electric cars and develop internet-connected vehicles in China.
“We want to push Taiwan's EV industry to the world,” Liu said in Taipei on Friday.
India's diesel sales rise above pre-COVID-19 levels in October - Industry data
More signs of normalcy on the economic front.
Reuters reports: "India's diesel consumption rose 8.8% in the first half of this month from a year ago, its first annual increase since March, when the nation imposed lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, preliminary industry data showed.
Diesel sales, which accounts for roughly two-fifths of refined fuel demand in the country, totalled 2.65 million tonnes, showed the preliminary data compiled by Indian Oil Corp , the country's top refiner and fuel retailer.
Petrol sales during Oct. 1-15 rose 1.5% from a year earlier to 982,000 tonnes, the data showed."
Passenger vehicle sales in India rise 26% in Sept: SIAM
More signs of recovery in the auto industry, but skeptics may point to pent-up demand.
PTI reports: "Passenger vehicle wholesales in India increased by 26.45 per cent to 2,72,027 units in September as against 2,15,124 units in the same month last year, auto industry body SIAM said on Friday.
According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales also rose 11.64 per cent to 18,49,546 units, compared with 16,56,658 units in the same month last year.
Motorcycle sales were at 12,24,117 units as against 10,43,621 units in September 2019, up 17.3 per cent.
Scooter sales were also up marginally at 5,56,205 units from 5,55,754 units in the same month last year.
In the July-September 2020 quarter, passenger vehicles sales increased 17.02 per cent to 7,26,232 units from 6,20,620 units in the same period of last fiscal.
Two wheeler sales during the September quarter this fiscal rose marginally to 46,90,565 units as compared with 46,82,571 units in the same period last fiscal.
However, commercial vehicles sales saw a dip of 20.13 per cent at 1,33,524 units in the quarter under review as compared with 1,67,173 units in July-September 2019.
Vehicle sales across categories during the second quarter declined marginally to 55,96,223 units as against 56,51,459 units in the same period of the previous fiscal."
Kharif foodgrain production likely to be record 144.52 million tonnes in 2020-21: Agriculture Minister
Foodgrain production is pegged at record 144.52 million tonnes in the 2020-21 kharif season notwithstanding COVID-19 crisis, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday.
Foodgrain production stood at 143.38 million tonnes during the 2019-20 kharif season, as per official data.
Currently, harvesting of kharif crops is underway. Rice is the main kharif crop.
“Foodgrain production will be better than last year. As per the initial estimates, foodgrain production is projected to be 144.52 million tonnes in the 2020-21 kharif season,” Mr. Tomar said addressing a digital conference organised by industry body CII.
Production of cash crops such as sugarcane and cotton is also expected to be good, he said.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a record increase in area sown to kharif crops by 4.51% to 1,121.75 lakh hectares this year, he added.
HCL Technologies shares tank over 4% on profit-booking after Q2 earnings
IT stocks that rallied in the past few weeks are witnessing a correction.
PTI reports: "Shares of HCL Technologies on Friday declined over 4 per cent in early trade on the bourses on profit-booking after the company posted 18.5 per cent rise in September quarter net profit.
The stock opened with gains on the BSE, but failed to carry the momentum further and tanked 4.47 per cent to Rs 821 as the trade progressed.
At the NSE, it declined 4.58 per cent to Rs 820.60.
IT firm HCL Technologies on Friday posted 18.5 per cent rise in September quarter net profit at Rs 3,142 crore. The IT major had registered a net profit of Rs 2,651 crore in the July-September 2019 quarter (as per US GAAP), HCL Technologies said in a regulatory filing.
Its revenue grew 6.1 per cent to Rs 18,594 crore in the quarter under review, from Rs 17,528 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
On a sequential basis, net profit was 7.4 per cent higher from Rs 2,925 crore, while top line was higher by 4.2 per cent from Rs 17,841 crore in June 2020 quarter.
In the second quarter, HCL Technologies recorded revenue growth at 4.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter in constant currency - higher than its estimate of 1.5-2.5 per cent sequential rise.
HCL Technologies has maintained its revenue growth guidance of an average of 1.5-2.5 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter in constant currency for the third and fourth quarter.
“We have delivered a stellar Q2 performance with a sequential revenue growth of 4.5 per cent in constant currency and 21.6 per cent EBIT margin,” HCL Technologies President and CEO C Vijayakumar said."
Wall street trading revenues soar
Rupee slips 6 paise to 73.42 against US dollar in early trade
Subdued sentiment in stocks also had its effect on the rupee.
PTI reports: "The rupee depreciated 6 paise to 73.42 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday as forex market sentiment remained subdued amid concerns over resurgence in coronavirus cases in many parts globally.
Analysts said rising COVID-19 cases in eurozone and fresh round of lockdown in many countries weighed on investors sentiment.
On Thursday, the local currency settled at 73.36 against the greenback.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05 per cent to 93.81.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 160.58 points higher at 39,888.99, and the broader NSE Nifty rose 45.75 points to 11,726.10.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 604.07 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1 per cent to USD 42.73 per barrel."
Equitas to cut stake in banking arm to 40% via M&A
Equitas Holdings Ltd. (EHL), is planning to reduce the stake in its banking arm to 40% by way of mergers/acquisitions (M&A) and bulk sale by September 2021, said a top official.
“Currently, we hold 95.49% stake in Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd. (SFB). It will come down to 82-83% after the current initial public offering,” said P.N. Vasudevan, MD & CEO, Equitas SFB.
“As per RBI norms, we have to bring it down to 40% in five years. We have time till September 2021. For this, EHL will go for M&A and bulk stake sale,” he said.
According to Mr. Vasudevan, Equitas SFB would be the third small finance bank to get listed on the bourses after Ujjivan SFB and AU Small Finance Bank.
Equitas SFB will enter the capital market on October 20 with a fresh issue aggregating to ₹280 crore and an offer for sale of up to 7,20,00,000 equity shares by EHL in the price band of ₹32-₹33 apiece. The shares will be listed on the NSE and BSE.
Sensex, Nifty rebound in early trade; bank, IT stocks take charge
Some gains for the indices after yesterday's slump.
PTI reports: "Equity benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded 320.33 points to trade at 40,048.74 in opening deals on Friday, led by intense buying mainly in banking and IT counters.
Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty surged 86.75 points or 0.74 per cent to 11,767.10 in early trade.
On the Sensex chart, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Infosys, ONGC, Kotak Bank, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were among prominent gainers.
Of the 30 Sensex constituents, 27 were trading in the green.
Asian shares were trading on a mixed note amid growing fears about resurgence of coronavirus cases in some countries.
On Thursday, the Sensex had plummeted by 1,066.33 points or 2.61 per cent to end at 39,728.41. The broader NSE Nifty had crashed 290.70 points or 2.43 per cent to 11,680.35.
Foreign institutional investors turned net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 604.07 crore on Thursday, exchange data showed."
‘Latest stimulus to have minimal growth impact’
The government’s latest fiscal stimulus measures will have a minimal impact on India’s growth prospects, rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said on Thursday, stressing that their ‘small scale’ is actually a credit negative as it reflects the country has ‘limited budgetary firepower to support the economy’.
On Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a leave travel cash voucher scheme and an interest-free festival advance of ₹10,000 for all central government employees, to spur consumer demand. She also announced a ₹25,000 crore enhancement in the Centre’s capital spending and a 50-year loan facility worth ₹12,000 crore for States to expand capital expenditure.
Moody’s expects India’s GDP to shrink 11.5% in 2020-21, so the 0.5% of GDP gain expected by the government from these stimulus measures will provide only ‘a small boost’, it pointed out. The package amounts to a fiscal cost of 0.2% of real GDP this year, as per the rating agency.